The hardest thing about selling is that customers have too much choice – especially in today’s online market. Also, many people do not need most of the products available today. In addition to that, no one likes traditional sales methods and advertising. The majority of people will click the ‘skip’ button as soon as they can, if a website pops an ad in their face.
As a result, marketing methods towards making the sale have changed, and continue to change. Modern businesses know that they need to make the consumer feel that what is being offered is just what they need. In other words, businesses offer simple solutions for consumers on their website.
To do this, according to the recent trend for sales, has been to find your customer’s needs and sell them the solution. Today’s customer doesn’t want to wade through a lot of information, they’d rather quickly find a concrete, simple, step-by-step solution to whatever complex, expensive, or time-consuming problem they have on their hands.
They also do not want to wait. They want a solution now.
Statistics state that an average of 60% of today’s customers abandon the purchasing decision before having a conversation with the sales team. The best way to sell is to find out what people really need – and solve the problem for them with clearly and simply.
#1 Evaluate Your Prospects
Your perfect customer may not even know they have a problem, or what that problem is. There are hundreds, thousands of articles designed to help solve problems – but these do not help if the customer isn’t searching for them. What the internet lacks, and what you can supply, are articles that are cleverly designed to identify the problem and immediately give a solution to your perfect customer.
The first step is to address a problem in several ways and try to connect with prospects. These ‘leading questions’ will evaluate where the prospect is in the purchase journey and how to convince them to purchase. Your entire website should be dedicated to succinctly outlining the problem(s) your target audience is experiencing and subtly guiding them towards the answer.
Squeeze pages are highly successful because this is what they do – but they go too far for today’s ‘media overloaded’ consumers. You can use them, just keep them limited and offer other solutions as well.
#2 Offer Solutions
Offer more than one solution. Let consumers feel they are in control of their purchase decisions. The important thing to remember is that the end product, or service, is not the solution. The problem is always deeper.
For example, if a person wants a pond in their garden, the problem isn’t that they need to buy a pond. The real problem is that they want a better garden than their neighbor. Or, that they want to express themselves artistically, be environmentally conscious, or improve their property value.
#3 Coach Don’t Sell
Selling is intrusive and abrasive. People want to make their own solutions. They welcome well-written or professionally put together media that offers original information that addresses their problem. They do not welcome overt sales copy or presentations. Think about how you respond as a consumer. Are you one of the many people that hit the ‘skip’ or ‘close’ button within seconds of an ad appearing? If people can’t ‘skip’ the ad, they’ll close the website, and you’ll lose that potential customer. Today’s successful websites do not sell more effectively – they sell differently.
You’ve dug deep and identified the underlying motivations to your consumer’s problem, which has led you to the true outcome that your consumer is looking for. Now, bring in the emotions involved and subtly weave a picture of your consumer’s dream coming true and how you can help, if they want. Remember to use language that conveys your passion and your willingness to help them, but allow your consumer to drive, to be in charge.
If your consumer feels like everything about your business is user-friendly, they’ll develop a connection with you. They’ll want to return to you and purchase relevant products or services from YOU rather than your competition.
For more information on how we, Webmaster for Hire, can help you renovate your website to do just this, contact us.